Dragon boat festival: the composite materials of boats and paddles add technicity to an ancient tradition
Over the years, the dragon boat festival has evolved into a modern competitive sport with international standards and sophisticated regulations. Wooden paddles and teak wood boats are still used occasionally today, but athletes now train with carbon fibre paddles and fiberglass boats on a regular basis.
Based in Fujian province, the family company Longhai Guoan has been manufacturing dragon boats for 150 years. “The first generation of the family boatbuilders built traditional dragon boats by hand-building wooden boats”, recalls Wu Jiafu (吴加福), the fifth-generation inheritor of the company. Before and after the 1980’s, Wu Jiafu’s father made the “Wu’s Dragon Boat” company flourish.
Later, China advocated the protection of forests, and there was a shortage of large timber resources. Traditional wooden dragon boats were surpassed by lighter and faster fiberglass dragon boats. In 1994, Wu Jiafu’s father went to Changzhou, Jiangsu province, and imported FRP technology in Fujian province. “At that time, FRP technology in Changzhou developed relatively early and the technology was very mature, so we introduced it”, explains Wu Jiafu, adding that the national standard dragon boats currently popular in China are almost all in fiberglass.
Although the material of the dragon boat has changed from traditional wood to modern fiberglass, Wu Jiafu believes that traditional culture cannot be lost. He mentions that the image of its boats dragon head is taken from the temples in southern Fujian and Taiwan, and is hand-painted, preserving the traditional culture of southern Fujian.
Uneven qualities
More recent, Chinese company Jinpai specializes in manufacturing fiberglass dragon boats and carbon fiber dragon boat paddles. Jason Lee, who manages the company’s dragon boat paddle production, explains that carbon fiber dragon boat paddles are widely used today due to their high strength and light weight. “Compared with traditional wooden paddles, their advantages are obvious”, he says.
According to him, there are several types of carbon fiber dragon boat paddles manufacturing processes:
1. Molding method: The carbon fiber material has been pre-impregnated with resin into the metal mold, then pressurized to make the excess glue overflow, and then cured at high temperature, and the finished product comes out after the film is removed. “Jinpai carbon fiber dragon boat paddles are produced by this method. The main advantage is that it is suitable for mass production and the quality is stable”, says Jason Lee.
2. Hand lay-up lamination method: The carbon fiber sheets impregnated with glue are sheared and laminated, resin is brushed on one side of the laminate, and then hot-pressed. This method can freely select the direction, size and thickness of the fiber, and is widely used. “The advantage is that it is simple and the cost is low. It can be completed without a large machine. It enables a low price for the paddle. The disadvantage is that the quality is not as good as that of the molding process”, details Jason Lee.
He assures that Jinpai carbon fiber dragon boat paddle adopts the most advanced carbon fiber molding technology. “The compression molding process needs high production costs and large investment, which is why the product price is slightly higher than the general carbon fiber dragon boat paddles on the market”, he explains. According to him, judging whether a paddle is good or bad can be judged initially from its appearance: a good paddle has clear texture and looks beautiful.
More information:
Longhai Guoan ID WeChat: 龙海国安玻璃钢船艇制造有限公司
Jinpai ID WeChat: 金湃龙舟奖工作室
